¡ß Distribution Dolmens of Jeollanamdo
 

Configuration of Site

Dolmens were found wherever people lived such as  level ground, hills, hillside, foot of mountains. Gwansan, Jangheung or Dongkang, Goheung, which is the  most concentrated place of dolmens, is a valley-shaped level land, and for Samil, Yeosu, dolmens are distributed in a round valley south of the Gwangyang bay.

In the plain of the Youngsan river and the side of the east coast, dolmens are distributed in the area to which a river or a mountain is connected. As for the mountainous area of the Boseung river, dolmens are densely distributed at the large valley near the south coast but, they are hardly seen in the north and east.

Type and Structure

The external structure of dolmens is roughly categorized into table-type and base-type. Table-type dolmens found in the Jeonnam area are small, and in stone and structure, they are seriously different from those of Liaotung and the Daedong river. Table-type dolmens are distributed in Naju, Yonggwang, and Youngam at the Yongsan river and the west coast, and Jisangseoksil type ( with stone chambers on the surface ), which is transformed table-type , appears even at the upper area of the Youngsan river.

The base-type dolmens are evenly distributed all over the country. If stone tables are round or strange-shaped, they are usually huge , which are supported by four or six stone pieces. Typical base-type dolmens are mainly distributed in the area of Honam and Yeongnam, especially, in Jeollanamdo(Jeonnam).

Characteristics of Jeonnam Dolmens

- Jeonnam is a world-widely representative dolmen place because of the dense distribution of dolmens.

In the Jeonnam area, 19,000 pieces of dolmens from about 2,200 places were examined and about 100 pieces of dolmens were found recently. It is assumed that more than 20,000 pieces are distributed here. There are 30,000 pieces of dolmens in our country and most of them are concentrated in Jeonnam. 316 pieces of dolmens are distributed in Liaotung, China and about 600 pieces are distributed in Europe. All over  Europe, 5500 pieces of megalith including menhirs are distributed. So Jeonnam, Korea is the most dense distribution place of dolmens.

- Jeonnam has the southern district-type mega dolmens.

 It is assumed that the large table-type dolmen in Liaotung, China and in the area of the Daedong river weighs about 40 tons. In Daegokri, Hwasun, Jeonnam, there is a big dolmen which is 710cm long, 400cm wide  and 370cm thick(23.7ft×13.3ft×12.3ft) at the foot of the hill. Daeshinri Dolmens are 760cm long, 420cm wide and 410cm thick(25.3ft×14ft×13.7ft). In this case, it is assumed that 1§© of granite weighs 2.5 and 2.8 tons and as 1§© equals two tons, it weighs 210 and 260 tons.

- There was a trend that bronze wares, jade and stone swords were burial accessories

There is a Korean mandolin among the relics excavated from Jeonnam dolmen places. In Jeonnam, 16 pieces were excavated and they were from dolmens in Jeonnam. Specifically, from dolmens in Jeokryangdong, Yeosu, seven pieces of Korean mandolin-shaped bronze swords and one piece of Dongmo were excavated.

 Jade was hardly found from dolmens, but more than 400 jade pieces were excavated in Pyeongyeodong, Yeosu. Stone swords were also the main burial accessories in the area of the Boseong river and the south coast. Trend of burial accessories such as jade, stone swords and bronze wares are distinct characteristic of the Jeonnam dolmen culture.